‘Apartment 413′ nabs pilot prize

New York Television Festival unveils winners

The New York Television Festival announced the winners of its Independent Pilot competition yesterday: the best pilot awards went to “Apartment 413″ for comedy, “Dear Harvard” for drama, and “The Gauntlet” for best nonscripted.

“The Gauntlet” also took home the $10,000 cash MSN Artistic Achievement Award, which includes a meeting with execs from MSN Originals. The show follows workplace rivalries between people with odd or unique jobs – the pilot featured grudge matches between competing Zamboni drivers and rival ice sculptors fighting it out for a cash prize and the opportunity to lord it over their opponents.

“Apartment 413″ chronicles the adventures and interactions of puppet and non-puppet characters in sitcom situations. The non-human characters include everything from Muppet-style hand-and-rod puppets to finger puppets.

“Dear Harvard” explores the inner workings of an upper-class all-girls high school, seen through the eyes of a girl from the Upper East Side.

The best writing award went to “The Agency” writer Jack Piccone, while Best Directing went to Grant Weiss and John Paul White for “Sacrifice.” Ali Farahnakian and Ella Rae Peck took home the best actor and actress awards, respectively.